Reagan, Unscripted

Before he took office, Reagan did not keep a diary, but during his time in the White House (here, in the Residence study), he rarely missed a day. Michael Evans/Courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Library.

All the qualities that made Ronald Reagan one of the most popular presidents in modern American history are reflected in the diaries, to be published this month, that he kept throughout his eight years in office. Here he is, losing his temper with the Soviets (and his son Ron), cracking jokes about Castro, protecting Nancy, holding the weeping mothers of Marines killed in Beirut. An exclusive excerpt, edited and introduced by Douglas Brinkley, recalls the turbulent sweep of the era Reagan dominated, including his takes on being shot, Israel's bombing of Iraq, the Challenger explosion, Iran-contra, and his chemistry with Gorbachev.

Ronald Reagan never kept a diary before entering the White House, but that all changed starting with his inauguration on January 20, 1981. Unlike so many new diarists, who trail off after the first few weeks, he took his writing commitment seriously, and in his two terms he never neglected a daily entry, except when he was in the hospital.

As with the man himself, there is an appealing earnestness to the diaries, one that delivers an unvarnished accounting of his days in power. In fact, Reagan was a master of the art of summary. Where other diarists prattle on, unsure of what is important, he found it easy to identify the salient point of a meeting or a conversation, leaving the irrelevant details aside. He was also a fairly facile writer.

Although the diaries cover only eight years, they leave a sense of the full scope of Reagan's life. For example, there is no sense that he "left Hollywood behind." Some of the people he respected most were friends from his acting days, and so the likes of James Stewart, Frank Sinatra, Claudette Colbert, Irene Dunne, and George Murphy make regular appearances in the entries. A man who was admirably comfortable with himself, Reagan brought all of the experiences and the friendships of his long life with him into the White House years.

It's not historical hyperbole to note that the most profound achievements of the Reagan administration changed the world. When Reagan took office, the Soviet Union expected war imminently. By the time he left the White House, the threat of nuclear war was reduced to a memory, as the Cold War was fast coming to a close. Domestically, Reagan left as strong a legacy. His personality, no less than his policies, led to a resurgent belief in the power of the individual, competition in business, and private initiative to solve domestic problems. Such successes were no accident; Reagan worked hard. His executive ability and the work habits that went along with it are delineated throughout the diary.

Reagan's diaries—five 8-by-11 hardback books bound in maroon leather and embossed on the front with the presidential seal—resemble a handsome half-set of an encyclopedia. Within the pages, you see immediately that Reagan had neat, rounded handwriting in ink that is variously blue or black. It is a welcoming hand, easy to read. Cross-outs are rare. Economical to the core, Reagan filled every page to the very bottom. Occasionally, he inserted auxiliary material: comic photographs, a picture of a young girl wearing a "Reagan" straw hat, or newspaper clippings pertaining to U.S. soldiers killed abroad.

Like most diarists, he developed his own abbreviations. Democrats, for example, were "Demos" or "Dems," while Republicans were "Repubs." Camp David was "Camp D." and the White House was "W.H." Ampersands were always used, even in the midst of words that happened to contain the letters a, n, d. His idiosyncratic spellings are sprinkled throughout (e.g., "familys" in lieu of "families"). And for reasons of decorum, rather than expediency, Reagan could not bring himself to write out curse words, on those very rare occasions when he resorted to them. Thus, "hell," for example, became "h—l" and "damn" was always "d- - -."

According to Nancy Reagan, who has custodianship of the diaries, her husband would bring a volume with him when traveling, often recording entries while on Air Force One or Marine One. Unfortunately, there are no photographs of him logging. Plans call for the diaries to be placed under glass in a display, which may someday travel throughout the United States.

Comedian Bob Hope once asked President Reagan how it felt to actually be the U.S. president—to sit in the very Oval Office where Abraham Lincoln paced during the Civil War. "Well," said Reagan, with his characteristic smile, "it's not a lot different than being an actor, except I get to write the script."

These excerpts are part of that script.

Mon. Jan. 26, 1981 •A meeting on terrorism with heads of F.B.I.—S.S.—C.I.A. Sec's of St. Defense & others. Have ordered they be given back their ability to function. Next a cabinet meeting on the deal with Iran. Hostages will arrive in country tomorrow. It seems some of them had some tough questions for Carter in Germany as to why they were there so long and why they were there to begin with.

Tues. Jan. 27 •Ceremony on S. Lawn to welcome hostages home. Thousands of people in attendance. Met the familys earlier. Now we had in addition the familys of the 8 men who lost their lives in the rescue attempt. One couple lost their only son. His widow was also here. I've had a lump in my throat all day.

Thurs. Jan. 29 •Nancy had a great triumph with committee which rides herd on White House (to preserve its history). They were enthusiastic about what she has already done to upgrade the 2nd & 3rd floors.

Also on VF.com: a slide show of pages from the Reagan diaries.](/politics/features/2007/06/reagandiaries_slideshow200706)

Sat. Jan. 31 •Had a before lunch walk. (It was cold.) Spent afternoon in front of fire reading intelligence reports & Briefing papers for visit by Pres. Chun (Korea). We have definite evidence Nicaragua transferring hundreds of tons of arms from Cuba to El Salvador. p.m. ran a movie—"Tribute"—Jack Lemmon. He is truly a great performer.

Wed. Feb. 11 •Intelligence reports say he Castro is very worried about me. I'm very worried that we can't come up with something to justify his worrying.

Thurs. Feb. 26 •P.M. Margaret Thatcher arrived. We had a private meeting in Oval office. She is as firm as ever re—the Soviets and for reduction of govt. Expressed regret that she tried to reduce govt. spending a step at a time & was defeated in each attempt. Said she should have done it our way—an entire package—all or nothing.

Fri. Feb. 27 •P.M. getting great press. Went up to the hill and was literally an advocate for our ec. program. Some of the Sen's. tried to give her a bad time. She put them down firmly & with typical British courtesy.

Wed. March 4 •Our wedding anniversary. 29 years of more happiness than any man could rightly deserve. A Pakistani plane was highjacked and landed in Kabul. The Russians are holding it & 3 or 6 of the passengers are American. We haven't been able to learn which figure is right but we're going to let the Soviets know we won't put up with their games.

Fri. March 13 •The Rev. Jesse Jackson announces he's staging a march on Wash. Mon. demanding help for Atlanta in this 19 month tragedy of the murders of black children which has so far numbered 20 with 1 missing. Atlanta has a financial problem due to $100,000 a month overtime for police. What Jesse apparently doesn't know is that we've already given Atlanta about $1 mil. and have roughly 40 F.B.I. agents in there on the case. Today I went to the press briefing room and read a statement detailing this & then announced we were giving another $1 1/2 mil. & that V.P. G. Bush was going personally to Atlanta.

Finished calling a number of St. Dept. Professionals appointing them to Ambassadorial posts—no Pres. has ever done this personally before. I'm enjoying doing some of the things I'm then told Pres's. haven't done before.

Flew into LaGuardia then helicoptered around the lower tip of Manhattan and landed on a heli-pad on the lower West side. The usual lengthy motorcade with police closing off intersections and taking us traffic free through town. One thing was unusual and very humbling; the streets were lined with people as if for a parade all the way to the Waldorf. They cheered & clapped and I wore my arms out waving back to them.

I keep thinking this can't continue and yet their warmth & affection seems so genuine I get a lump in my throat. I pray constantly that I won't let them down.

Tues. March 24 •A call from Al Haig, all upset about an announcement that George [Bush] is to be chairman of the Crisis Council. Historically the chairman is Nat. Security Advisor (Dick Allen). Al thinks his turf is being invaded. We chose George because Al is wary of Dick. He talked of resigning. Frankly I think he's seeing things that aren't there. He's Sec. of St. and no one is intruding on his turf—foreign policy is his but he has half the Cabinet teed off.

Mon. March 30[written Sat. April 11] • My day to address the Bldg. & Const. Trades Nat. Conf. A.F.L.-C.I.O. at the Hilton Ballroom—2 p.m. Was all dressed to go & for some reason at the last min. took off my really good wrist watch & wore an older one.

Speech not riotously received—still it was successful.

Left the hotel at the usual side entrance and headed for the car—suddenly there was a burst of gun fire from the left. S.S. Agent pushed me onto the floor of the car & jumped on top. I felt a blow in my upper back that was unbelievably painful. I was sure he'd broken my rib. The car took off. I sat up on the edge of the seat almost paralyzed by pain. Then I began coughing up blood which made both of us think—yes I had a broken rib & it had punctured a lung. He switched orders from W.H. to Geo. Wash. U. Hosp.

By the time we arrived I was having great trouble getting enough air. We did not know that Tim McCarthy (S.S.) had been shot in the chest, Jim Brady in the head & a policeman Tom Delahanty in the neck.

I walked into the emergency room and was hoisted onto a cart where I was stripped of my clothes. It was then we learned I'd been shot & had a bullet in my lung.

Getting shot hurts.

Wed. April 29 •Again spent morning in the office—returned to residence for lunch & nap. I must be getting better—my naps are getting shorter.

We had a Nat. Security Council briefing (meeting tomorrow). Several situations in the world are worsening—particularly Lebanon.

Recv'd. word that Jules Stein died last night. That is truly the end of our era.

Fri. May 1 •Highlight was noon visit by Prince Charles. He's a most likeable person. The ushers brought him tea—horror of horrors they served it our way with a tea bag in the cup. It finally dawned on me that he was just holding the cup & then finally put it down on a table. I didn't know what to do. Mike [Deaver, deputy chief of staff] escorted him back to the W.H. and apologized. The Prince, "I didn't know what to do with it."

Wed. May 6 •More meetings with Cong. These Demos. are with us on the budget and it's interesting to hear some who've been here 10 years or more say it is their 1st time to ever be in the Oval office. We really seem to be putting a coalition together.

Thurs. May 7 •The Budget bill passed 253 to 176. All the Repubs. stayed together & 63 Demos. voted with us. We never anticipated such a landslide. We felt we were going to win due to the conservative block of Demos but expected R. defectors so that we might win by 1 or 2 votes. It's been a long time since Repubs. have had a victory like this.

Fri. May 15 •N.S.C. meeting with Lebanon on the table. Latest message from [special envoy Philip] Habib does not sound good although he said to make no decision for a few days. [Israeli prime minister Menachem] Begin was more flexible than [president] Assad of Syria (bolstered by Soviets). Habib going to Saudi Arabia to see if they'll lean on Assad. Sometimes I wonder if we are destined to witness Armageddon.

Mon. May 18 •We may have a chance in Lebanon of heading off a war. The Saudi's sent an emissary to Syria. Our problem now is 2 pol. leaders Assad & Begin & finding a way that saves both their faces & doesn't look like the U.S. managed this.

Met with [Paul] Volcker of the Fed. Reserve. Int. prime rates went to 20 today. This is "chicken little" stuff in the money mkt. based on pessimism that Cong. wont give us what we're asking so inflation will go up.

Thurs. May 28 •Cabinet meeting. Demos. finally have come up with a counter proposal to our tax program. They want to include a reduction of the inc. tax rate on unearned income from 70% to the 50% top rate on earned inc. We wanted that in the 1st place but were sure they'd attack us as favoring the rich. Several of their other proposals are things we wanted. I'll hail it as a great bipartisan solution. H—l! It's more than I thought we could get. I'm delighted to get the 70 down to 50.

Mon. June 1 •I approved naval maneuvers in Mediterranean waters that Qaddafi of Libya has declared are his territorial waters. I'm not being foolhardy but he's a madman. He has been harassing our planes out over international waters & it's time to show the other nations there Egypt, Morocco, et al that there is different management here.

Sun. June 7 •Got word of Israeli bombing of Iraq—nuclear reactor. I swear I believe Armageddon is near.

Returned to W.H. at 3 p.m. More word on bombing. P.M. Begin informed us after the fact.

Tues. June 9 •Ended day with an N.S.C. meeting re the bombing of Iraq. P.M. Begin insists the plant was preparing to produce nuclear weapons for use on Israel. If he waited 'til the French shipment of "hot" uranium arrived he couldn't order the bombing because of the radiation that would be loosed over Baghdad.

I can understand his fear but feel he took wrong option. He should have told us & the French, we could have done something to remove the threat.

However we are not turning on Israel—that would be an invitation for the Arabs to attack. It's time to raise H—l world wide for a settlement of the "middle-east" problem. What has happened is the result of fear & suspicion on both sides. We need a real push for a solid peace.

Sun. June 21 •Negotiations are still going on to try and head off tomorrows illegal strike by the air controllers. I told Drew [Lewis, secretary of transportation] to tell their Union Chief I was the best friend his people ever had in the W.H. but I would not countenance an illegal strike nor would I permit negotiations while such a strike was in process.

Tues. June 30 •This afternoon met with Cap. [Weinberger, secretary of defense] on the B-1. He leans toward going for the "Stealth" which would leave a several year gap with only the aging B-52's. I tend to favor filling the gap with B-1's while we develop the "Stealth."

Mon. July 6 •Nancy's birthday. Called Judge O'Connor in Ariz. & told her she was my nominee for Supreme Ct. Already the flack is starting & from my own supporters. Rite to Life people say she's pro-abortion. She declares abortion is personally repugnant to her. I think she'll make a good Justice.

Tues. July 14 •We are still meeting & stewing about East-West trade and now we must take on the problem of what to do or if to do something to help the Polish people. Their economy is going bust. Here is the 1st major break in the Red dike—Poland's disenchantment with Soviet Communism. Can we afford to let Poland collapse? But in the state of our present economy can we afford to help in a meaningful way? We can't alone but if our nato allies could really unite we could handle it.

Sat. & Sun. Aug. 1 & 2 •Also learned the Air Controllers will probably strike Mon. morning. That's against the law. I'm going to announce that those who strike have lost their jobs & will not be re-hired.

As of mid-day 35% of the Air Controllers were on the job and flying was 65% of normal.

Wed. Aug. 5 •Pres. Sadat arrived. We had good meetings. I told him of our naval maneuvers in the Mediterranean on Aug. 18 & that our ships & planes would cross the Qaddafi line into the Gulf of Sidra. He almost shouted—"magnificent!"

Tues. Oct. 6 •Awakened at 7:25 by a phone call from Al Haig with news that Anwar Sadat had been shot along with many others. All morning we waited for news—receiving word only that he was not fatally wounded & was in surgery. Then came the word he was dead.

It's hard to describe the shock & the sorrow we both felt. Even though their visit was short we discovered we had a deep feeling of friendship for them. Maybe it has to do with a state visit. You start out with knowledge of each other & immediately get into the problems you mutually want to solve.

Anyway, we both feel a great sense of loss. He was truly a great man, a kind man with warmth and humor.

I'm trying not to feel hatred for those who did this foul deed but I can't make it. Qaddafi gloating on TV, his people jubilantly celebrating in the streets. He is beneath contempt.

He goes on radio (clandestine) and began broadcasting propaganda, calling for a holy war, etc. before Sadats death was confirmed. This material had to have been already prepared. In other words, he knew it was going to happen.

Thurs. Oct. 29 •Met with Huang Hua [foreign minister of China]. There is a real push going on. China is virtually delivering an ultimatum re—arms to Taiwan. I don't like ultimatums. We have a moral obligation & until a peaceful settlement is reached between the mainland & Taiwan we're going to meet that obligation.

Wed. Nov. 18 •Today was the big day—the speech to the world at the Nat. press club. It really was to the world. I'm told it was the largest network ever put together—all of Europe, China & I don't know how many other places. It has been wonderfully received worldwide except for Russia—Tass [tass, Russian news agency] is screaming bloody murder. I asked Russia to join us in total elimination of all medium range nuclear weapons in Europe. Funny—I was talking peace but wearing a bullet proof vest. It seems Qaddafi put a contract on me & some person named Jack was going to try for me at the speech. Security was very tight.

Tues. Dec. 22 •Met with the Polish Ambassador & his wife. It was an emotional meeting. They have asked for asylum here. He is defecting because of what the Polish govt. (ordered by the Soviets) are doing to the Polish people.

I go on TV tomorrow nite. It's supposed to be a Christmas message but I intend to deliver a message to the Soviets & the Poles. We can't let this revolution against Communism fail without our offering a hand. We may never have an opportunity like this one in our lifetime.

Sat. Jan. 16, 1982 •It's possible [Egyptian president Hosni] Mubarak will abandon the Camp David accords & settle down with his Arab brothers once he gets the Sinai back. At the same time Begin may renege on the Sinai although he swears he won't. [Israeli minister of defense Ariel] Sharon is the bad guy who seemingly looks forward to a war.

Tues. Jan. 26 •Have been getting calls from Al Haig in Geneva. [Russian foreign minister Andrei] Gromyko declares he won't talk about Poland. Last call came after 7 1/2 hour meeting. Al says Gromyko is more nervous than he's ever seen him. He talked arms limitation. Al talked Poland & Cuba. Gromyko tried to play down the big arms buildup they are doing in Cuba.

Thurs. Feb. 4 •Day was filled with meetings, N.S.C. etc. We have problems with El Salvador—the rebels seem to be winning. Guatemala could go any day & of course Nicaragua is another Cuba. Lots of options but no decisions. Mid afternoon I could hardly keep my eyes open—in fact I didn't.—Tonite early to bed.

Sat. Feb. 6 •Bill Clark [deputy secretary of state] called—trouble brewing in the Middle East. Israel on verge of major invasion of So. Lebanon because of P.L.O. mil. build up. We are trying to persuade them they must not move unless there is a provocation of such a nature—the world will recognize Israel's right to retaliate. Right now Israel has lost a lot of world sympathy.

Thurs. March 25 •Pres. Pertini of Italy arrived—1st visit to U.S. He's 84 and a terrific old gentleman. We had the full ceremony under a warm sun. Good meeting. He loves America—very touching moment on the way into the W.H. He paused by the Marine holding our flag and kissed it.

State dinner a huge success—a really fun time and great entertainment by Perry Como and Frank Sinatra.

Fri. April 2 •Last night I called the Pres. of Argentina—talked for 40 min. trying to persuade him not to invade the Falkland Islands (property of U.K. since 1540 or so). Argentina has been trying to claim them for 149 years. I got no where. This morning they landed some 1000 or so men. Population of islands is only 2000 almost all English. Now we learn there is a possibility of oil there.

Sun. April 11 Easter •Arrived at Jamaica & went right into meetings with P.M. Seaga. Next morning on to Barbados—again a series of meetings this time with P.M.'s of 6 Island Nations. Fri. our one really clear day off was great … swam in the ocean, lunched, swam some more and then had dinner. The tide was high & the ocean rough with waves—surf breaking right on the beach. I swam anyway. Coming in was a chore against the undertow.

Fri. April 23 •Both the Falklands and the Budget battle seem to be coming to a moment of truth. Defense Minister Pym (U.K.) is on his way back to London with what could be the last proposal we can cook up. The shooting could start—it would be a war mainly because an Argentine General, President (result of a coup) needed to lift his sagging pol. fortunes.

The group debating the budget seems unable to arrive at any kind of consensus. If we can't get a Bi-partisan agreement to act together in the face of the projected deficit—then I take to the air (TV) and there will be blood on the floor.

Sun. April 25 •First news—British Helicopters damaged an Argentine Sub off New Georgia. Next—the Sinai has been returned to Egypt. Mubarak & Begin together said "Peace Forever." I called Mubarak and Begin. The call to Menachem was most important because this has been a traumatic experience. Many of his people resisted leaving the Sinai & his army had to physically eject them. The army went in unarmed and did a magnificent job. I pledged to both that we will continue to help in any way we can to further the peace process.

Wed. Thurs. & Fri. May 5, 6, & 7 •We got together with Sen. Pete Domenici's Budget committee & worked out a compromise budget pckg. It passed out of committee by a straight 11 to 9 party line vote. It's a good budget and will trim the projected deficits down to $106 bil. next year, $69 Bil. in '84 & $39 Bil. in '85. The Demos. are screaming and lying like bandits charging us with cutting Soc. Security—we aren't touching Soc. Security.

Sat. May 15 •Long call to Ron [Reagan Jr., his son]. He wants to Sign off Secret Svc. for a month. S.S. knows he's a real target—lives in a N.Y.C. area where the Puerto Rican terrorist group is active. In fact he's on a hit list. He thinks we're interfering with his privacy. I can't make him see that I can't be put in a position of one day facing a ransom demand. I'd have to refuse for reasons of the Nation's welfare.

Mon. June 14 •N.S.C. meeting on the Lebanon situation. There is a possibility the separate Lebanese factions can unite—get Syrians and Israelis out of their country and disarm the P.L.O. Al H. made great good sense on this entire matter. It's amazing how sound he can be on complex international matters but how utterly paranoid with regard to the people he must work with.

Mon. June 21 •Whatever else happened this was P.M. Begin day. He & I had almost an hours 1 on 1 with first our 2 Ambassadors present. I was pretty blunt regarding whether even a savage assassination attempt which will probably turn out to be successful (if not the Ambas. will be paralyzed) warranted the retaliation which has taken so many lives in Lebanon.

He came back with a defense based on the shelling of Israeli villages by P.L.O. elements in Lebanon.

It's a complex problem. While we think his action was overkill it still may turn out to be the best opportunity we've had to reconcile the warring factions in Lebanon & bring about peace after 7 years.

In the larger meetings with his people & ours we went at it again. He's adamant against our proposal to sell arms to Jordan. My argument is we're trying to create more "Egypts" who'll make peace with Israel. He refuses to believe another Arab state will do what Egypt did. Frustrating.

Fri. June 25 •Today was the day—I told Al H. I had decided to accept his resignation. He didn't seem surprised but he said his differences were on policy and then said we didn't agree on China or Russia etc. I made a simple announcement to the press and said I was nominating Geo. Shultz for the job.

Up to Camp David where we were in time to see Al read his letter of resignation on T.V. I'm told it was his 4th re-write. Apparently his 1st was pretty strong—then he thought better of it. I must say it was O.K. he gave only one reason & did say there was a disagreement on foreign policy. Actually the only disagreement was over whether I made policy or the Sec. of State did.

Mon. June 28 •N.S.C. briefing on space. No question that Soviets have moved to a military priority in space. We must not be left behind.

Thurs. Aug. 12 •Met with the news the Israelis delivered the most devastating bomb & artillery attack on W. Beirut lasting 14 hours. Habib cabled—desperate—has basic agreement from all parties but can't arrange details of P.L.O. withdrawal because of the barrage.

King Fahd [Saudi Arabia] called begging me to do something. I told him I was calling P.M. Begin immediately. And I did—I was angry—I told him it had to stop or our entire future relationship was endangered. I used the word holocaust deliberately & said the symbol of his war was becoming a picture of a 7 month old baby with its arms blown off. He told me he had ordered the bombing stopped—I asked about the artillery fire. He claimed the P.L.O. had started that & Israeli forces had taken casualties. End of call. Twenty mins. later he called to tell me he'd ordered an end to the barrage and plead for our continued friendship.

Sat. Sept. 18 •With Nancy gone the only event of the day should have been my noon radio broadcast. Unfortunately things changed. In Beirut, Haddads [Major Saad Haddad] Christian Phalangist Militia entered a Palestine refugee camp and massacred men, women and children. The Israelis did nothing to prevent or halt it. George S. and I met and agreed upon a blunt statement which he delivered to the Israeli Ambassador. It is a sad day and one which may very well set our peace efforts back.

Nancy came home about 6 p.m.—thank Heaven. We watched tapes of Princess Grace's funeral.

Tues. Sept. 28 •Cap signed order for Marines to go ashore Wed. a.m. Israelis will withdraw to So. of the airport—Marines will be stationed at the airport.

Sat. Oct. 23 •Late afternoon Doria [his daughter-in-law] & Ron arrived for a family pow-wow. He'd been rude to Nancy on a phone call and when I phoned him about it he said he thought we needed to clear the air.

It wasn't the greatest meeting but still I think it opened the door to a closer relationship. He seemed to be carrying water for Patti [Davis, his daughter] who has a kind of yo yo family relationship. She's either warmly attentive or very distant & Nancy seems to bear the brunt of it.

Tues. Dec. 7 •The weather turned out fine for the official greeting ceremony for Pres. Zia of Pakistan. We got along fine. He's a good man (cavalry). Gave me his word they were not building an atomic or nuclear bomb. He's dedicated to helping the Afghans & stopping the Soviets. After our meetings—spent the day on the phone re the MX [missile]. I really resent Chmn. Adabbo of N.Y. [Representative Addabbo, chairman of the defense subcommittee] who honchoed killing the MX. No matter what he says he's just plain against re-arming the U.S.—unless the weapons are built in New York.

Thurs. Jan. 27, 1983 •President Mubarak of Egypt arrived. We had good meetings and reaffirmed our solid relationship. He's very concerned about Israels stubbornness about getting out of Lebanon & fears our peace initiative may simply die on the vine because of them. I share his concern. He believes they & the Syrians may be playing a game with an eye to both, even though they are hostile toward each other, cutting up Lebanon between them.

Wed. Feb. 2 •A visit with 6 Afghan freedom fighters here in this country to tell of inhumanity of the Soviets. One's wife had been executed while her 2 children watched. One was a young, pretty & tiny lady—held in custody for 4 months—tortured daily. She had been a medical student. Her crime? Caught looking at a "freedom" leaflet. The others were from a village where the Russians had burned 105 people alive with gasoline & chemicals in an irrigation tunnel. Jack Hume [California Republican supporter] came by with a plan for getting our story to the people. Looks like a good idea.

Sat. Feb. 26 •Tomorrow we start trying to convince Congress we must have more money for El Salvador. We have an entire plan for bolstering the govt. forces. This is one we must win.

Wed. March 23 •The big thing today was the 8 p.m. TV speech on all networks about the Nat. Security. I did the bulk of the speech on why our arms build up was necessary & then finished with a call to the Science community to join me in research starting now to develop a defensive weapon that would render nuclear missiles obsolete. I made no optimistic forecasts—said it might take 20 yrs. or more but we had to do it. I felt good.

Thurs. April 7 •This evening Ron called all exercised because S.S. agents had gone into their apartment while they were in Calif. to fix an alarm on one of the windows. I tried to reason with him that this was a perfectly O.K. thing for them to do. [Redaction.] I told him quite firmly not to talk to me that way & he hung up on me. End of a not perfect day.

Thurs. April 21 •Brazil is holding Lybian transport planes that were headed for Nicaragua. Their cargo—medical supplys turned out to be weapons.

Sun. May 1 •Nancy phoned—very upset. Ron casually told the S.S. he was going to Paris in a few days. I don't know what it is with him. He refuses to cooperate with them. [Redaction.] I'm not talking to him until he apologizes for hanging up on me.

Thurs. June 30 •In early afternoon met with Ansel Adams & his wife. He is the great nature photographer. He has expressed hatred for me because of my supposed stand on the environment. I asked for the meeting. I gave him chapter & verse about where I really stand on the environment & what our record is. All in all the meeting seemed pleasant enough & I thought maybe I'd taken some of the acid out of his ink. Then I read the story of the meeting as he'd given it to the press. I'm afraid I was talking to ears that refused to hear.

Fri. July 22 •Today was Pres. Gemayal (Lebanon) day. We had a good meeting & lunch. I think he is reassured that we are not going to abandon them. While we were meeting word came that Beirut was under rocket attacks by the Syrians. We are going to send them the latest in Radar art which can zero in on exactly where the rockets are coming from.

Sept. 2 Fri. •The Soviets shot down a Korean Airliner with 269 passengers—53 of them Americans including Congressman Larry McDonald. We were due to return to Wash. [from his Santa Barbara Ranch] on Labor day but realized we couldn't wait so we left on Fri. It was heartbreaking—I had really looked forward to those last 3 days. When we got in Fri. I went directly to an N.S.C. meeting re—the Soviet affair. We're going to try & persuade our friends to join us in banning Aeroflot flights & in demanding reparations for the victims familys.

Sun. Sept. 4 •To the Oval Office for a meeting with Congressional leadership—Dems. & Repubs. Dealt 1st & longest with Korean Plane. Ran a tape of conversation between 2 Soviet pilots including the one who stated he had locked on his radar guided air to air missiles, launched them & "target destroyed." I'm going on air 8 p.m. tomorrow night to tell the story & announce our plans.

Tues. Sept. 6 •N.S.C. meeting with Geo. S. to discuss his meeting with Gromyko. Some are opposed but I think George is right—he should see Gromyko & eyeball him on the Korean plane shoot down. There were 61 Americans on that plane. This could be the 1st time Gromyko has been put on the defensive.

We lost 2 more Marines last night in Beirut. The Civil war is running wild & could result in collapse of the Gemayal govt. & then stuff would hit the fan. I called the parents of the 2 Marines—not easy. One father asked if they were in Lebanon for anything that was worth his son's life.

Fri. Oct. 21 •About 4 a.m. or so I was awakened by [Robert] Bud McFarlane [national-security adviser]. I joined him & George S. in the living room. We were on the phone with Wash. about the Grenada situation. I've OK'd an outright invasion in response to a request by 6 other Caribbean nations including Jamaica & Barbados. They will all supply some forces so it will be a multi national invasion.

Sat. Oct. 22 & Sun. Oct. 23 •About 2:30 in the morning awakened again: This time with the tragic news that more than 100 Marines in Beirut had been killed by a car bomb driven by a suicide driver who drove the truck right into the H.Q. building & blew up with it. All our plans changed—we arranged to depart the cottage [in Augusta, Georgia] at 6:30 a.m. & go back to Wash. Of course by this time it was Sun. Oct. 23. I've spent the day in meetings on this & Grenada. We're going to go on with the invasion. Tonite our men are staging a landing to gather intelligence. If everything is O.K., tomorrow night is D. day—well actually it will be early morning Tues. Meanwhile Gen. Kelley (Marines) is leaving for Lebanon. We all believe Iranians did this bombing just as they did with our embassy last April.

Mon. Oct. 24 •Opened with NSC brf. on Lebanon & Grenada. Lebanon gets worse as the death toll climbs. More bodies are found & more critically wounded die. Ambas. Hartman (Russia) came by. He confirms what I believe: the Soviets won't really negotiate on arms reductions until we deploy the Pershing II's & go forward with MX. He also confirms that Andropov is very much out of sight these days.

A meeting with the Joint Chiefs—they outlined the final details for our move on Grenada scheduled for 9 p.m. take off. No evidence of any moves by Cuba.

So far not even a tiny leak about the Grenada move. This was one secret we really managed to keep.

Fri. Oct. 28 •NSC—mainly on Grenada. Our forces have been wonderful & most effective. We've captured about 700 Cubans, most of the Grenada mil. has faded back into the population leaving weapons & uniforms behind. We've brought a great many Americans out, particularly our medical students from the St. Georges U. Medical School—they kissed the ground when they reached the U.S.

Fri. Nov. 4 •An early start for Camp Lejeune in N. Carolina: A memorial svc. for the Marine dead of Lebanon—the suicide bombing. It was a dreary day with constant rain which somehow seemed appropriate. It was a moving service and as hard as anything we've ever done. At the end, taps got to both of us.

The only indoor part was a receiving line meeting the families of the deceased. They were so wonderful, sometimes widows or mothers would just put their arms around me, their head on my chest & quietly cry. One little boy 8 or 9 politely handed me a manila folder saying it was something he'd written about his father. Later when I could read it I found it was a poem entitled "Loneliness."

Fri. Nov. 18 •George Shultz & I had a talk mainly about setting up a little in house group of experts on the Soviet U. to help us in setting up some channels. I feel the Soviets are so defense minded, so paranoid about being attacked that without being in any way soft on them we ought to tell them no one here has any intention of doing anything like that. What the h—l have they got that anyone would want.

Wed. Feb. 1, 1984 •S.S. got a tip [redaction] that a terrorist act was pointed at the Presidents daughter. I'm inclined to believe they might mean Maureen because she is so visible in her pol. work. She has S.S. protection. On the other hand, Patti screamed & complained so much we took the S.S. detail away at her request. Now S.S. went to her & asked if she would accept it for no more than a week until they could get this informant out of Lebanon & check the story. She said yes. But today's the 4th day & she's screaming again about invasion of her privacy & last night she abused the agents terribly. I said take them away from her so she's again without protection. Insanity is hereditary you catch it from your kids.

Tues. March 20 •During the day I called Congressman Ireland in a Fla. Hospital with pneumonia. He is the 4th Dem. Rep. to turn Republican since we've been here. We lost the school prayer amendment in the Senate. We had a majority but needed a 2/3 majority. The sad thing is about 15 Sens. were convinced the amendment was a mandate that schools would have to have prayer. Lowell Weicker [Connecticut senator] was the head ringmaster against us as he is on everything we want. He's a pompous, no good, fathead.

Thurs. April 26 •We left Agana Naval Air Station at 10 a.m. enroute to Beijing. We arrived at Capital Airport at 2:05 p.m. China time which was 1:05 a.m. Wash. time. We drove directly to the East Court of the Great Hall of the People. We were greeted by Pres. Li & Mrs. Li. The national anthems were played, there was a 21-gun salute—the 1st ever given to an American Pres.

About 7 p.m. we took a 5 min. drive to the Yang Yuan Hall for the dinner hosted by Pres. Li. The Pres. is an affable person as is his wife. Here was our 1st go at a 12 course Chinese dinner. We heeded Dick Nixons advice & didn't ask what things were—we just swallowed them. There were a few items I managed to stir around on my plate & leave. We both did well with our chopsticks.

Mon. May 14 •A Ceremony on the S. Lawn to honor young Michael Jackson who is the sensation of the pop music world—believed to have earned $120 mil. last year. He is giving proceeds from one of his biggest selling records to the campaign against drunk driving. He is totally opposed to Drugs & Alcohol & is using his popularity to influence young people against them. I was surprised at how shy he is.

Sat. July 28 •Lv. for Calif. to open the Olympics then off to the ranch. Met Nancy—then addressed our Am. team at Olympic Village & on to the Coliseum. The opening ceremonies were magnificent. My 2 sentences to open the games I thought were written in reverse. The applause line—"hereby declare open etc." was 1st followed by a second line about the 23rd Olympiad. I asked permission to change the order & did so. The press having a copy of the lines as written are gleefully tagging me with senility & inability to learn my lines.

Fri. Dec. 7 •We're convinced they [the Soviets] want above all to negotiate away our right to seek defensive weapon against ballistic missiles. They fear our technology. I believe such a defense could render nuclear weapons obsolete & thus we could rid the world of that threat. Question is will they use that to break off the talks & blame us?

Wed. Jan. 16, 1985 •N.S.C. briefing—I made a decision to equip several planes with equipment capable of jamming Cuban radio & TV. We may never use them—I hope not. But we intend to start Radio Marti—broadcasting truth to Cuba. We intend to offer Castro a channel upon which he is free to broadcast to our people. But we'll also tell him that if he jams our radio & (as he has threatened) interferes with our commercial stations we'll black out Cuban TV & radio. We must be prepared to carry that out instantly.

Tues. Jan. 22 •Met with "Right to Life Leaders." Thanks to modern science (ultra-sound) they have filmed inside the womb a baby being aborted. The Dr. responsible had performed 10,000 abortions—this turned him around. He is now an anti-abortion activist. I scheduled a showing for tonite. In the meantime had a reception for about 400 of the people—volunteers who served on the inaugural committee. The movie (28 minutes) was most impressive & how anyone could deny that the fetus is a living human being is beyond me.

Mon. March 4 •We had an N.S.C. meeting with our Arms Talks Leaders looking at various options for how we wanted to deal with the Soviets. It's a very complicated business. I urged one decision on them—that we open the talks with a concession—surprise! Since they have publicly stated they want to see nuclear weapons eliminated entirely, I told our people to open by saying we would accept their goal.

Nancy came to the oval office for lunch & we cut an anniversary cake & had a few of the immediate staff share in it. That was the extent of our celebration except that at dinner we opened a bottle of Chateau Margaux 1911.

Mon. March 11 •Awakened at 4 a.m. to be told Chernenko [Soviet leader] is dead. My mind turned to whether I should attend the funeral. My gut instinct said no. Got to the office at 9. George S. had some arguments that I should—he lost. I don't think his heart was really in it. George B. is in Geneva—he'll go & George S. will join him leaving tonight.

Word has been received that Gorbachev has been named head man in the Soviet.

A Haircut & then over to the Soviet embassy to sign the grief book—this is my 3rd such trip.

Thurs. March 28 •Off to N.Y.—breakfast on the plane. I opened the N.Y. Stock Exchange—a brief speech & rang the bell at 10 a.m. I was amazed at the reception. They were cheering like it was a pol. rally. Then upstairs to talk to & answer Q.'s from the 650 or so board members. I was told I'm the only sitting Pres. who has ever visited the place.

On the way back to Kennedy Airport Max [Friedersdorf, assistant for legislative affairs] got Don Regan [chief of staff], who was with me, on our car phone to give us the count on the House vote for MX (the all important 2nd vote). We slowed the convoy down so we could have the final vote before we met the press at plane side. With about 1 min. to spare—word came—we won 217 to 210. I greeted the press with the news.

Tip O'Neill had told me he would vote against it but that was a matter of conscience & that he would not try to persuade anyone else to vote with him. There are witnesses to his statement. But right down to the wire he twisted arms, threatened punishment of the 61 Dems. who went with us—in short he was playing pure partisan politics all the way.

Wed. June 26 •In East room a pleasant gathering—141 finalists in the competition to choose the Am. Teacher who would be 1st teacher to go into space in the shuttle come January.

Tues. Nov. 19 •This was the day. Mr. G. [Mikhail Gorbachev] & I met [at the Geneva Summit]. We were scheduled for 15 min. of pvt. one on one—We did an hour which excited the h—l out of the Press. Then we joined the plenary meeting. He did a pitch about us not trusting them, etc. We should have no pre-conditions set before any agreement about better relations. "Our ruling class (munitions makers) keep our people upset at the Soviets so they can sell more weapons." He also took off on the Heritage Foundation & think tanks that do the same. He said we had declared zones of special interest around the world but attacked the USSR when they did the same thing. We must recognize right of people to a revolution. Well finally it was my turn and I took them all the way through the history of Soviet aggression, etc. In the p.m. session he had quite a prepared thing that had us suspicious without cause etc. Again I rebutted with some pretty solid examples—W.W. II their refusal to let Am. warplanes use Soviet fields etc. When I finished I suggested he & I leave the group & do another 1 on 1. We walked down to a pool house on the lake shore. Eddy [Serrano, White House navy steward] had a fire going & we did about 2 hours on S.D.I. [Strategic Defense Initiative]. He's adamant but so am I. I scored one we've worried about—that the meetings should be on an ongoing basis. He accepted my invite to U.S. next year & I'm invited to U.S.S.R. in '87.

Sun. Dec. 29—through Fri. Jan. 3, 1986 •Ended 1985 with 18 holes of golf—shot the 1st 9 in 45. Then the New Years party and as always it was great. New Years Day—was watch the Rose Bowl day—U.C.L.A. vs. Iowa. And a smaller dinner & song fest with mainly the other House guests. Of course hanging over all of this was a cloud we tried to ignore temporarily—the matter of Qaddafi & his connection with the massacres at Rome & Vienna airports. We all feel we must do something yet there are problems including 1000 Americans living & working in the mad clown's country.

Tues. Jan. 28, 1986 •A day we'll remember for the rest of our lives. I was getting a briefing for a meeting I was to have with network anchors—an advance on the St. of the Union address scheduled for tonite. In came [National-Security Adviser John] Poindexter & the V.P. with the news the shuttle Challenger had blown up on takeoff. We all then headed for a TV and saw the explosion re-played. From then on there was only [one] subject—the death of the 6 crew & 1 passenger—Mrs. McAuliff[e], the teacher who had won the right to make the flight. There is no way to describe our shock & horror. We cancelled—I should say postponed the St. of the Union address til next week.

Tues. Feb. 18 •Back to work. Met with G.O.P. Congressional leadership—subject Nicaragua. We're starting our campaign to get approval from Cong. for Covert aid to the "Contras." It isn't going to be easy. The Sandinistas have a disinformation program that has fooled a lot of people—some want to be fooled.

Mon. March 24 •The real news was that Qaddafi fired Sam [sam] missiles at our planes in the Mediterranean war games & sent a couple of missile ships out toward our naval vessels. Score—no hits on any of our craft but 2 Libyan ships sunk and our air missiles took out the radar without which the Sams can't be fired. Qaddafi claims he shot down 3 of our planes—he lies.

On top of this the Sandinistas crossed the border of Honduras & are 15 miles inside that country attacking Contra encampments. The Pres. of H. has asked us for transportation of Honduran mil. to the scene. We have helicopters there in numbers enough to do it. I've said yes. I guess I'll hear how that came out tomorrow.

Fri. March 28 to Sunday April 6 •Got a night time call re the bombing of the Disco in W. Berlin where 50 or so of our service men were wounded and killed. Evidence is adding up that the villain was Qaddafi although that hypocrite went on T.V. to say "it was a terrorist act against innocent civilians & he wouldn't do such things."

Mon. April 14 •Our 1st meetings (staff) had to do with what happens tonite. For one thing I can't go to [general chairman of the Republican Party] Paul Laxalt's Basque B.B.Q. At 7 p.m. our time, A.F. F 111's from an Eng. base & planes from our 6th fleet carriers will hit mil. targets in Libya. It wouldn't be seemly for me to be out socializing. Some time later I'll go on TV to tell the people the details.

Well the attack took place right on the nose 7 p.m. our time—about 11 mins. over the target areas. Preliminary report—all planes withdrawn but 2 of our F 111's are unreported. Maybe it's only radio failure—maybe they are down we don't know as of this time. One thing seems sure—ours was a success.

Wed. April 16 •I learned that in the last two 24 hr. periods the W.H. has taken 126,000 phone calls 15,000 couldn't get through—then 160,000 & 16,000 couldn't get through. They were more than 70% favorable. The sad note is we have to assume the 2 missing airmen are dead. Evidence indicates their plane was shot down just off shore after dropping its bombs.

Tripoli radio is calling on Arabs to kill Americans.

Mon. April 21 •Prime rate dropped from 9 to 8 1/2 & the Yen is the highest with regard to $ it's ever been. An interview with 4 Wire service operators. Most Q's were on Libya plus how it tied in to the coming summit. I managed to get some things said I've wanted to say—i.e. where does Qaddafi get over moaning about our bombs killing a little girl? What about the baby blown through the side of a TWA plane at 15,000 ft. What about the 11 yr. old girl mowed down in cold blood at the Rome airport. Mr. K. [Qaddafi] called that one a "noble deed."

Wed. Sept. 3 •The Soviets are holding American journalist (U.S. News & World Report) [Nicholas Daniloff] charging him with being a spy. It is of course a frame up & the 4th time they've done it. Each time we have arrested one of their KGB agents they have done this. The last time before this one was in '78. Each time before they grabbed an American businessman. Then they try to arrange a prisoner exchange.

Wed. Sept. 17 •The press is obsessed with the Daniloff affair & determined to paint all of us as caving in to the Soviets which they of course say is the worst way to deal with them. The simple truth is we've offered no deal and are playing hard ball all the way.

Fri. Sept. 19 •George S. brought F.M. Shevardnadze (Sov. U.) over to the Oval office to deliver Gorbachev's letter to me. The Gen. Sec. wants a meeting between him & me in London or Iceland—I opt for Iceland. This would be preparatory to a Summit. I'm agreeable to that but made it plain we wanted Daniloff returned to us before anything took place. I let the F.M. know I was angry & that I resented their charges that Daniloff was a spy after I had personally given my word that he wasn't. I gave him a little run down on the difference between our 2 systems & told him they couldn't understand the importance we place on the individual because they don't have such a feeling. I enjoyed being angry.

Sat. Oct. 11 •[In Iceland.] a.m. a briefing session then a 5 minute drive to the meeting place—a waterfront home. I was host for the 1st session. Gorby & I met 1st with interpreters & note takers. Then he proposed we bring in Geo. S. & Shevardnadze. That's the way it went then for all the meetings. We got into Human Rts., Regional things & bi partisan agreements on our exchange programs etc. Then it was plain they wanted to get to arms control—so we did.

Sun. Oct. 12 •Our teams had given us an agreement to eliminate entirely all nuc. devices over a 10 yr. pd. We would research & develop SDI during 10 yrs. then deploy & I offered to share with Soviets the system. This began the showdown. He wanted language that would have killed S.D.I. The price was high but I wouldn't sell & that's how day ended. All our people thought I'd done exactly right. I'd pledged I wouldn't give away SDI & I didn't but that meant no deal on any of the arms reductions. I was mad—he tried to act jovial but I acted mad & it showed. Well the ball is in his court and I'm convinced he'll come around when he sees how the world is reacting.

Fri. Nov. 7 •Usual meetings—discussion of how to handle press who are off on a wild story built on unfounded story originating in Beirut that we bought hostage [David] Jacobsen's freedom with weapons to Iran. We've tried "no comment." I've proposed & our message will be—"we can't & won't answer any Q's on this subject because to do so will endanger the lives of those we are trying to help."

Mon. Nov. 24 •Big thing of the day was 2 hour meeting in the situation room on the Iran affair. George S. is still stubborn that we shouldn't have sold the arms to Iran—I gave him an argument. All in all we got everything out on the table. After meeting Ed [Meese, attorney general] & Don [Regan] told me of a smoking gun. On one of the arms shipments the Iranians pd. Israel a higher purchase price than we were getting. The Israelis put the difference in a secret bank acct. Then our Col. [Oliver] North (NSC) gave the money to the "Contras." This was a violation of the law against giving the Contras money without an authorization by Congress. North didn't tell me about this. Worst of all John [Poindexter] found out about it & didn't tell me. This may call for resignations.

Mon. Jan. 12, 1987 •The press is quoting the usual unnamed W.H. source that our game plan is to sit tight for 2 yrs. protecting what we've already accomplished. Truth is we've got so many new programs we want to go after we're having trouble setting the agenda.

Sun. Feb. 1 •At 10 a.m. the Dr's. came up & hung a lot of gear on me which I must wear til 10 p.m. It is a 12 hour electrocardiograph recorded on a 12 hour tape. Just a check to see how the old man's ticker is doing. Colin Powell called. In Teheran the Iranians arrested an American press man (Wall St. Journal) took his passport accused him of being a Zionist spy & threw him in jail. He's a Roman Catholic. I'm ready to kidnap the Khomeini.

Wed. Feb. 11 •Learned this a.m. that a tape has turned up & been revealed to the Tower commission & the Sen. investigation. It is complete fiction. It has Ollie North telling the Iranians he's held meetings with me at Camp David and that I was willing to go all out with arms deliverys in order to get our hostages back & I wanted Iran to win the war. I OK'd (according to the tape) providing Iran with strategy & intelligence to help them beat Iraq. I'm also said to have wanted Hussein of Iraq to abdicate & because of my support for Khomeini.

Later in morning met with [Special Counselor David] Abshire and told him the tape was complete fiction. There have been no meetings with North at Camp D. He's never been there while I've been President.

Thurs. Feb. 26 •At 10 a.m. rcvd. the Tower report—almost 300 pages. We had about a 45 min. brief but I won't really know what's in it til I've read it. At 11 a.m. over to E.O.B. [Executive Office Building] with the 3 members of the Commission—hundreds of media. I made a statement, turned the meeting over to John Tower & left with all of them screaming Q's at me—Sam [Donaldson, ABC News] the loudest.

Sun. May 17 •A beautiful, easy day—until I got a call from Frank [Carlucci, national-security adviser]. In the Persian Gulf off the coast of Bahrain our Frigate the U.S.S. Stark was hit by 2 missiles fired by an Iraq Mirage F.1. The U.S.S. Wadell went to the scene—both ships made port. We have filed a protest. Apparently the plane did not have visual aim but fired at a radar image. More bulletins through the day & situation looking worse.

Mon. June 22 •Off on Marine I for Andrews & A.F.1. There was a little boy on the Lawn jumping up & down waving a paper pad & a pen. I couldn't resist. I ran over to him & signed the autograph. Found out later he had only recently lost his father. His mother they tell me was shedding tears of happiness.

Only dark spot of day was a real one—a notice that Fred Astaire had died. He was a truly wonderful man.

Sat. [July] 18 •Another beautiful day. Called Bill Bennet [Secretary of Education William Bennett]—just back from Europe. Told him I was sure some one had apprised him of our son Ron's article on aids in People mag. Ron gave both of us h—l. He can be stubborn on a couple of issues & won't listen to anyone's argument. Bill volunteered to have a talk with him. I hope it can be worked out.

Mon. Sept. 28 •Staff meeting started with Bob Woodward's claim in his book & his interview last night on 60 min. that he'd interviewed Bill Casey [director of central intelligence] just before Casey's death. He's a liar & he lied about what Casey is supposed to have thought of me.

Iran is apparently building another Silkworm launching pad. Sen. Byrd has another bill that would amount to de flagging the Kuwait Tankers.

Upstairs—no Nancy, she is overnight at the Grunwalds place. As usual I'm lonesome & so is Rex [family dog].

Mon. Oct. 19 •At 7 a.m. our time 4 U.S. Destroyers warned men on 2 adjoining platforms in the gulf which served as [Iranian] radar & Command & Control posts to get off—most if not all did. We then loosed 1000 rounds of 5 inch shells on the platforms. Mission successful. Most of our meeting time taken up by reports on this & our dealings with Cong. Cong. is for most part supportive of our action.

By days end the news was a 508 fall in the Dow Jones. Some people are talking of panic—the Dow is down 800 points in just over a week.

Tues. Dec. 8 •This is the big day. Staff meeting was small talk and actually so was NSC because at 10 a.m. a full ceremony on the S. Lawn for Gorbachev's arrival. He & Raisa [Gorbachev's wife] arrived in a limo made in Russia that's bigger than anything we have. After the usual routine he & I went to the Oval O. All our talk must be through interpreters. A good rousing meeting—we got into a debate about human rights. It was a good meeting & it's plain he really wants more reduction of nuclear weapons. I think we'll make progress on the "Start" Treaty [start, the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks].

After lunch Nancy & I met he & Raisa and went up to the East Room for the signing of the INF [Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces] Treaty. It was TV'd live and really was an historic moment.

Then came word that the mkt. on Wall Street zoomed up 56 points right after we signed the treaty.

Fri. Dec. 11 •Had an 8:30 a.m. Breakfast in Cab. room with entire Dem. & Repub. Cong. leadership. When I walked into the room I got an ovation. The spirit of bipartisanship flavored the entire meeting.

Wed. Feb. 10, 1988 •Of course the 1st subject was Gen. Noriega who is spouting lies all over the news.

Pres. of Panama announced he was going to ask Noriega to take a leave of absence—then he postponed the Cabinet meeting where this was supposed to take place.

U.S. attorneys in Miami are drawing up papers demanding extradition.

Wed. March 16 •At 2 p.m. a meeting in Oval O. with Jim Stewart—he's back here doing some lobbying against the computerized coloring of old classic black & white pictures. He makes a good point. I'm going to look into it to see if I can be of help.

Fri. March 18 •Panama—2 St. Dept. reps. are on way to Panama to meet with Noriega at his request. Later in day we were told they'd had a lengthy meeting and made plain we want his departure—soon—from Panama. He's meeting now with his lawyers & has asked for a 2nd meeting maybe tomorrow.

Several of Noriega's staff have defected including his personal pilots of 727 & helicopter. They've asked us for asylum. Pilots claim they flew 48 tons of Soviet weapons & ammunition from Cuba to Noriega. Defectors are now in Fla.

Mon. April 25 •I phoned Frank Robinson manager of Orioles who have lost 18 straight games beginning with 1st game. I told him to ask them to win one for the Gipper.

Tues. May 3 •The press have a new one thanks to Don Regan's book. We make decisions on the basis of going to Astrologers. The media are behaving like kids with a new toy—never mind that there is no truth in it.

Wed. May 4 •A short meeting—some talk about this astrology mess Don Regan's book has kicked up. Some gal in L.A. claims she's a visitor to the W.H. & that she gives us frequent readings. She even claims she advised me on choosing Geo. B. for V.P. We've never seen her in our lives & don't know her at all.

Sun. May 29 •Get away day—this time to Moscow, our 1st time ever to see Russia. We were met by Ambas. & Mrs. Matlock & Pres. & Mrs. Gromyko—also our Ambas. staff plus family. It was amazing how quickly the street was jammed curb to curb with people—warm, friendly people who couldn't have been more affectionate. In addition to our S.S. the KGB was on hand & I've never seen such brutal manhandling as they did on their own people who were in no way getting out of hand.

Mon. May 30 •2nd meeting with the Gen. Sec. Touched on other subjects—congratulated him for his courage in leaving Afghanistan. Then tried to show him how some of things we were urging on him would actually help bring about his perestroika. There is no question in my mind but that a certain chemistry does exist between us.

Thurs. June 16 •Zia has declared Islamic Law is law of Pakistan. That puts them into the Fundamentalist Revolution with the Ayatolah & Qaddafi.

Sat. July 2 •My radio cast, then groundbreaking for new Chapel at Camp David. But main event was a 5 a.m. phone call that one of our cruisers, the USS Vincennes in the Persian Gulf accompanied by 2 Frigates had been engaged by a flotilla of Iranian missile carrying speed boats. The Vincennes sank 2 & disabled a 3rd. While this was going on radar picked up a blip on a plane taking [off] in Iran & on a course directly toward the action. Radio warnings were sent on both mil. aircraft frequency & commercial. There was no reply. Then radar revealed the plane was descending right on line with the Vincennes. The Capt. ordered firing of 2 missiles. One brought the plane down. Later it was learned the plane was an airbus carrying according to Iran, 290 people. It's a terrible tragedy and I so stated but while I've ordered a Naval investigation, I don't believe the Captain had any other choice but to fire on the plane.

Wed. Aug. 17 •At 7:30 a.m. phone call from Colin Powell. One of our C-130's in Pakistan—the Punjab where a mil. demonstration of one of our new tanks was taking place crashed on takeoff killing all on board. This included Pres. Zia of Pakistan, our Ambas. & 2 [one] of our Generals. We're waiting further word as to others & possible cause of crash.

Thurs. Dec. 1 •Soviets have stopped jamming radio broadcasts such as Radio Liberty & all the others. They have also announced they are releasing 120 pol. prisoners.

Thurs. Dec. 22 •Air crash of Pan Am plane over Scotland began with some kind of explosion at 31,000 ft. New figure on dead—273 on the plane. Ambas. Charles Price & Carol went to scene of crash last night. Margaret Thatcher went early in the morning. I talked to both of them later in the day.

Also on VF.com: a slide show of pages from the Reagan diaries.](/politics/features/2007/06/reagandiaries_slideshow200706)

Wed. Jan. 4, 1989 •At 2:45 a.m. Colin phoned to tell me 2 of our F14's from the USS Kennedy shot down 2 Mig 23's from Libya. There have been signs that Qaddafi is antsy about a possible attack on his chemical factory. This time the ship & planes were on their way to Israel & 600 miles East of his factory. When they fastened on to our F.14's and turned on their afterburners, our pilots decided they were hostile & knocked them down. So back to sleep.

Thurs. Jan. 19 •Soviets propose reducing it's nuclear tactical battlefield weapons. This may be a ploy to win approval of German people who are aware their country would be the battlefield for an exchange of such weapons.

Dick Thornburg [Attorney General Richard Thornburgh] came in to see me about pardons. He doesn't believe I should pardon Patty Hearst, North, Poindexter or McFarlane. I'm afraid he's right. Nick Brady [secretary of Treasury] came by to say goodbye & thank me. Same with Alan Greenspan [chairman of the Federal Reserve]. Then it was the V.P.'s turn. All of my W.H. staff was gathered in the Roosevelt room for him to thank & say a goodbye.